Sangha of Auspicious Companions

How Hope Helps Us Build a Meaningful Life

A new study, published in the journal Emotion, underscores the pivotal role hope plays in crafting a meaningful life. Researchers found that more than just a vague sense of well-being, hope is crucial in shaping our perception of life’s significance. Through surveys involving over 900 participants, the study found a strong correlation between feelings of hope and perceived meaning in life, independent of general positive emotions. Interestingly, it appears that the emotion of hope, rather than beliefs about achieving specific outcomes, strongly influences how meaningful one’s life feels. Further studies involving college students demonstrated that feelings of hope could predict future feelings of life meaning over time. Hope fosters resilience, encouraging proactive approaches to adversity by transforming optimistic sentiment into actionable purpose. Megan Edwards, the study’s lead author, suggests that finding everyday moments of positivity and recognizing the impermanence of adversity can help cultivate hope. In challenging times, hope appears to be an essential component in maintaining and crafting a sense of purpose and meaning.

Be The Change

Start a daily gratitude journal to note down at least one thing you’re hopeful about each day, nurturing a mindset that change is always possible.